Batto camp 2009!
Hmmmm that was surprising to get some responses! Like I said Im trying to be more diligent about keeping this thing updated.
First off. This past weekend was our Battodo Camp. Our camp is basically an open ended day of seminars taught by myself, Elder sensei and Dave Drawdy sensei. We went through the Batto Seitei stuff, Nakamura Ryu stuff, and of course cutting. Also I brought along the gekken swords at the request of one of the DC students.
The mats were pretty rough this year. Lots of threaded ones if you know what Im talking about. Although I must say it was fun trying to test all these different swords out on these mats. I got to cut with several swords so I'll share my quick thoughts on them.
1) My Custom L-6 - sharpened by Mike Femal about a couple of weeks ago, it is quite light and sharp. The balance is different what Im used to (which is tip heavy) so I had to get adjusted to the difference which is mainly I have to generate your own tip weight. However more so than this was the weight. Extremely light, my hips and body was finished with the cutting motion before the sword which is usually not the case! hahaha. I call this my "teaching" sword since it is so light and takes it easy on my wrists
2) Shirayuri L-6 - I previously owned this sword, and it was tuned up a bit by kyle. Even against the tougher mats it did pretty well. I like the traditional geometry, and it has a nice feel in the hands.
3) Nihonto from Dave Drawdy - Can't quite remember the name of the smith, I think a gassan blade. Handle was great (wrap by Robin Ramirez), felt nice and balanced in the hands. I think this would be a great sword for one handed cutting *nukitsuke* because of its nice balance and forward feeling. Although I got stuck in the mats once or twice, I blame the mat and not myself or the sword! jk hahahaha
4) Raptor series cranes neck - This sword was a bit too stylized for me. Felt kind of clunky and the tsuka felt too awkward. Also, the handle was I guess to be about 13 inches which is a bit uncomfortable for me. But for 250 bucks it's not too bad. I would rather go with the Paul Chen practicals for this price however
5) Raptor series - this one is the regular one. This one handled much better than the cranes neck raptpr katana. With a decent edge it would be a barely decent practice sword. Once again for the amount it costs, I would recommend it only as a stepping stone until you can save up for a better sword.
The BBQ was excellent as usual and Ron came through again with his cooking skills. Scotch also made it difficult for people to wake up the next day but all was well at the end of the day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35978766@N02/sets/72157620735713074/
those are some pics. Enjoy!
First off. This past weekend was our Battodo Camp. Our camp is basically an open ended day of seminars taught by myself, Elder sensei and Dave Drawdy sensei. We went through the Batto Seitei stuff, Nakamura Ryu stuff, and of course cutting. Also I brought along the gekken swords at the request of one of the DC students.
The mats were pretty rough this year. Lots of threaded ones if you know what Im talking about. Although I must say it was fun trying to test all these different swords out on these mats. I got to cut with several swords so I'll share my quick thoughts on them.
1) My Custom L-6 - sharpened by Mike Femal about a couple of weeks ago, it is quite light and sharp. The balance is different what Im used to (which is tip heavy) so I had to get adjusted to the difference which is mainly I have to generate your own tip weight. However more so than this was the weight. Extremely light, my hips and body was finished with the cutting motion before the sword which is usually not the case! hahaha. I call this my "teaching" sword since it is so light and takes it easy on my wrists
2) Shirayuri L-6 - I previously owned this sword, and it was tuned up a bit by kyle. Even against the tougher mats it did pretty well. I like the traditional geometry, and it has a nice feel in the hands.
3) Nihonto from Dave Drawdy - Can't quite remember the name of the smith, I think a gassan blade. Handle was great (wrap by Robin Ramirez), felt nice and balanced in the hands. I think this would be a great sword for one handed cutting *nukitsuke* because of its nice balance and forward feeling. Although I got stuck in the mats once or twice, I blame the mat and not myself or the sword! jk hahahaha
4) Raptor series cranes neck - This sword was a bit too stylized for me. Felt kind of clunky and the tsuka felt too awkward. Also, the handle was I guess to be about 13 inches which is a bit uncomfortable for me. But for 250 bucks it's not too bad. I would rather go with the Paul Chen practicals for this price however
5) Raptor series - this one is the regular one. This one handled much better than the cranes neck raptpr katana. With a decent edge it would be a barely decent practice sword. Once again for the amount it costs, I would recommend it only as a stepping stone until you can save up for a better sword.
The BBQ was excellent as usual and Ron came through again with his cooking skills. Scotch also made it difficult for people to wake up the next day but all was well at the end of the day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35978766@N02/sets/72157620735713074/
those are some pics. Enjoy!
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